THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. I accept. (Applause.) Thank you for
the warm welcome. I want to thank Betsy DeVos for her leadership and
for her friendship and for her kind words. I appreciate all she's done
for the children of this great state of Michigan. (Applause.) She's a
fine soul, fine person. (Applause.)

I want to thank you all for coming tonight. You see, you're laying
the groundwork for what will be a great victory in November of 2004.
(Applause.) I appreciate so very much your coming tonight. I want you
to know that I'm going to count on you during the course of the
election. I'm going to count on you to energize the grassroots, to
talk to your neighbors, to put signs in the yard, to mail the letters
and to remind people that our message is one that is hopeful and
optimistic for every citizen who lives in this country. (Applause.)

I'm getting ready. (Laughter.) And I'm loosening up. (Laughter.)
But the political season will come in its own time. Right now I'm
focused on the people's business in Washington, D.C. We have a lot on
the agenda. And I will continue to work hard, to earn the confidence
of all America, by keeping this nation secure and strong and prosperous
and free. (Applause.)

My only regret tonight is that Laura is not here. (Applause.) I
know, you drew the short straw. (Laughter.) She is a fabulous First
Lady, a great wife, and love her dearly. (Applause.) I want to thank
all those who helped. I want to thank Michael Kojaian and the entire
team who has put together this fantastic fundraiser. (Applause.) I
appreciate so very much my very close friend Mercer Reynolds, who is
the national finance chairman for this campaign. I want to thank Terri
Lynn Land, who is the Secretary of State, and Michael Cox, the State
Attorney General, for being here tonight. (Applause.)

I particularly want to thank Eric Childress, the student from the
Cornerstone School. I visited the Cornerstone in May of 2000. I saw
the good works that the teachers there and the administrators -- all
the hard work that goes to prepare the students for success in high
school and beyond. I appreciate so very much the high standards set in
that school. And I want to thank Eric for coming. But most of all, I
want to thank you all for your friendship and your support. It means
an awful lot.

You know, in the last two-and-a-half years, our nation has acted
decisively to confront great challenges. I came to this office to
solve problems, not to pass them on to future presidents and future
generations. (Applause.) I came to seize opportunities instead of
letting them slip away. And we are meeting the tests of our time.
Terrorists declared war on the United States of America, and war is
what they got. (Applause.)

We have captured or killed many key leaders of al Qaeda, and the
rest of them know we're on their trail. (Applause.) In Afghanistan
and in Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror regimes. Those regimes chose
defiance, and those regimes are no more. (Applause.)

Fifty million people, 50 million people in those two countries once
lived under tyranny, and now they live in freedom. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the resources
it needed, and morale was beginning to suffer. We increased the
defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. And today no
one in the world can question the skill and the strength and the spirit
of the United States military. (Applause.)

Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession.
Then the attacks on our country came. We had scandals in corporate
America, and war. All affected the people's confidence. But we
acted. We passed up new laws to hold corporate criminals to account.
And to get the economy going again, we have twice led the Congress in
-- to pass historic tax relief on behalf of the American people.

We know this: that when people have more money in their pockets,
when they have more take-home pay to spend, to save, or to invest, the
whole economy grows and people are more likely to find a job.
(Applause.) I understand whose money we spend in Washington, D.C. It
is not the government's money, it is the people's money. (Applause.)
We're returning more money to people to help them raise their
families. We're reducing taxes on dividends and capital gains to
encourage investment. We're giving small businesses incentives to
expand and to hire new people.

With all these actions, we're laying the foundations for greater
prosperity and more jobs across America, so that every single person in
this country has a chance to realize the great American Dream.
(Applause.)

Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education
reform, but there wasn't much action. So I called for, and Congress
passed, the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid bipartisan
majority, we delivered the most dramatic education reform in a
generation. We bring high standards and strong accountability measures
to every public school in America. We believe that every child can
learn the basics of reading and math, and we expect every school to
teach the basics of reading and math. We are challenging --
(applause.) We are challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations.
The days of excuse-making are over. We expect results in every single
classroom across America so that not one single child is left behind.
(Applause.)

We reorganized the government and created the Department of
Homeland Security to safeguard our borders and ports, and to protect
the American people. We passed trade promotion authority to open up
new markets for America's entrepreneurs and manufacturers and farmers
and ranchers. We passed a budget agreement that is helping to maintain
much needed spending discipline in Washington, D.C. On issue after
issue, this administration has acted on principle, has kept its word,
and has made progress for the American people. (Applause.)

The United States Congress has shared in these great achievements.
I appreciate the leadership of Speaker Hastert and Leader Frist. I
will continue to work with members of the Congress to change the tone
in Washington, D.C., by focusing on the people's business, and by
focusing on results. That's the kind of person I've attracted to my
administration. I have put together a fantastic team of great
Americans to serve the American people. (Applause.)

We have had no finer Vice President than Dick Cheney. (Applause.)
Mother may have a different opinion. (Laughter.) In two-and-a-half
years, we have come far, but our work is only beginning. I have set
great goals, worthy of this great nation. First, America is committed
to expanding the realm of freedom and peace, not only for our own
security, but for the benefit of the world. And second, in our own
country, we must work for a society of prosperity and compassion, so
that every citizen has a chance to work, and succeed, and to realize
the promise of our country.

It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depends on the
actions of America. The nation is freedom's home, and freedom's
defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are keeping it.

Our war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle,
and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not tire, we
will not stop, until this danger to civilization is removed.
(Applause.)

Yet our national interest involves more than eliminating aggressive
threats to our security. Our greatest security comes from the advance
of human liberty, because free nations do not support terror. Free
nations do not attack their neighbors. Free nations do not threaten
the world with weapons of mass terror. Americans believe that freedom
is the deepest need and hope of every human heart. And we believe that
freedom is the right of every person, and the future of every nation.
(Applause.)

America also understands that unprecedented influence brings
tremendous responsibilities. We have duties in the world. And when we
see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn
away. On the continent of Africa, America is now committed to bringing
the healing power of medicine to millions of men and women and children
now suffering with AIDS. This great land is leading the world in the
incredibly important work of human rescue. (Applause.)

We face challenges at home, and our actions prove that we are equal
to those challenges. I will continue to work on our economy until
everybody who wants to work and who cannot find a job today will be
able to find a job. (Applause.)

We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by
strengthening and modernizing Medicare. Recently, the Congress took
historic action to improve the lives of older Americans. For the first
time since the creation of Medicare, the House and the Senate have
passed reforms to increase the choices for our seniors and to provide
coverage for prescription drugs. It is now time for both Houses to
come together and to get a good bill to my desk as soon as possible.
(Applause.)

For the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on
frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine. (Applause.)
People who have been harmed by a bad doc deserve their day in court.
Yet the system should not reward lawyers who are fishing for rich
settlements. (Applause.) Because frivolous lawsuits drive up the cost
of health care, they affect the federal budget. Medical liability
reform is a national issue that requires a national response. No one
has ever been healed by a frivolous lawsuit. (Applause.)

I have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial
system runs well. And I have met that duty. I have nominated superb
men and women for the federal courts -- people who interpret the law,
not legislate from the bench. (Applause.) Yet some members of the
United States Senate are trying to keep my nominees off the bench by
blocking up or down votes.

Here in Michigan, for example, I have nominated four outstanding
individuals to serve on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. Yet all four
have been waiting more than a year for a vote. These kinds of delays
create judicial vacancies that harm our legal system. Every judicial
nominee deserves a fair hearing and an up or down vote on the Senate
floor. It is time for some of the members of the United States Senate
to stop playing politics with American justice. (Applause.)

The Congress needs to pass a comprehensive energy plan. Our nation
must promote energy efficiency and conservation, and develop cleaner
technologies to help us explore for more energy in an environmentally
friendly way. Yet, for the sake of our economic security, and for the
sake of our national security, we must be less dependent on foreign
sources of energy. (Applause.)

Our strong and prosperous nation must also be a compassionate
nation. I will continue to advance our agenda of compassionate
conservatism, applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task
of helping our fellow citizens in need. There's still millions of men
and women who want to end their dependence on government and become
independent through hard work. We must build on the success of welfare
reform to bring work and dignity into the lives of more of our fellow
citizens.

Congress should complete the Citizen Service Act so more Americans
can serve their communities and their country. And both Houses should
reach agreement on my faith-based initiative to support the armies of
compassion that are mentoring our children, that are caring for the
homeless, and that are offering hope to the addicted. (Applause.)

A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including
the independence and dignity that come from ownership. This
administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society
in America. We want more citizens owning their own home. We want our
citizens owning and controlling their health care plans. We want our
citizens owning and controlling their retirement plans. We want more
people to own their own small business. Because I understand that when
people own something, they own a stake in the future of this great
country. (Applause.)

In a compassionate society, people respect one another and take
responsibility for the decisions they make. We're changing the culture
of America from one that has said, if it feels good, do it, and if
you've got a problem, blame somebody else -- (laughter) -- to a culture
in which each of us understands that we are responsible for the
decisions we make in life.

If you are fortunate enough to be a mother or a father, you're
responsible for loving your child. (Applause.) If you are concerned
about the quality of the education in the community in which you live,
you're responsible for doing something about it. (Applause.) If
you're a CEO in America, you have the responsibility to tell the truth
to your shareholders and your employees. (Applause.) And in the new
responsibility society, each of us is responsible for loving our
neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourself. (Applause.)

We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around
us. I started the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans to extend a
compassionate hand to a neighbor in need, and the response has been
great.

I also know that our faith-based programs and our charities are
strong and vibrant all across America. We have neighborhood healers
who are performing miracles on a daily basis by helping people change
their hearts and their lives. Policemen and fire fighters and people
who wear our nation's uniform are reminding us what it means to
sacrifice for something greater than yourself. Once again, the
children of America believe in heros because they see them everyday.
(Applause.)

In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the
courage of America. And I have been privileged to see the compassion
and the character of the American people. All the tests of the last
two-and-a-half years have come to the right nation. We're a strong
country, and we use that strength to defend the peace. We're an
optimistic country, confident in ourselves and in ideals bigger than
ourselves.

Abroad, we seek to lift up whole nations by spreading freedom. At
home, we seek to lift up lives by spreading opportunity to every corner
of America. This is the work that history has set before us. We
welcome it. And we know that for our country, and for our cause, the
best days lie ahead.

May God bless you all, and may God bless America. Thank you all.
(Applause.)